This invention relates to an electrical atmospheric pressure alarm. In particular, a collective protective system (CPS) alarm adaptable to shipboard spaces to warn personnel of unacceptably low over-pressures in interior spaces protected from chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) contamination is hereinbelow disclosed.
Naval warships and land based buildings used as combat information centers have long been pressurized to protect against airborne intrusion of chemical biological and radiological contamination. Current systems now widely used in our fleet employ a single red light and audible alarm to inform the bridge that overpressure has been lost in a protected space. The Navy standard interior communications/status monitoring (IC/SM) alarm panel now widely used throughout protected Navy ships is of this type. These systems employ a pressure transducer in a protected zone warning of pressure loss by lighting a red light and sounding a buzzer at the master panel monitoring station. However, a single red light does not provide indication of whether pressure in the protected zone is rising or falling, or whether pressure is low but not falling, etc.
The commanders need as much warning as possible, however, and a single light/alarm provides notice but not advance warning. It is imperative that battle commanders know if overpressure is falling in a protected zone in time to warn personnel to don individual respirators or other protective gear. With the single alarm system now in use, the battle commander learns of a CBR contamination only after the fact. It is imperative that advance notice be provided battle commanders if they are to take the protective measures necessary to continue fighting the ship while sustaining a CBR attack.
In addition to the battle commander, other stations on the ship need to know the status of atmospheric overpressure in CBR protected spaces. For instance, if structural damage has occurred and a protected space has lost its overpressure, a damage control or repair station needs to have this information if they are to attempt repair in a timely manner. Other areas of a warship can use this status information along with the bridge and damage control stations, such as the combat information center, the pilot house, and so forth. Because of its hostile operating environment, a CPS alarm system must not be vulnerable to Electro-Magnetic Interferrance (EMI) or other radiation. The CPS alarm system must be versatile to be adaptable to various ships large and small, as well as shore-based protected facilities. Other applications, such as space stations, have need for improved CPS alarm systems.
Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a continuous along display of protected zone pressure to a master panel.
Another object of this disclosure is to teach a CPS alarm system that provides lights indicating when overpressure is low as well as when it is normal or completely lost.
Still another object of the instant invention is to provide a CPS alarm system capable of monitoring one or many separate protection zones.
A further object of the present invention is to teach a shipboard CPS alarm system that can provide pressure fail information to one or more slave stations as well as the master monitoring station.
Another object of this invention is to provide a CPS alarm system which can operate reliably in a hostile EMI or Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) environment.
Still another object of this disclosure is to teach a CPS alarm system easily adaptable to a shipboard power bus.
Yet another object of the instant invention is to provide a versatile improved CPS alarm system constructed from off the shelf components available both commercially and through the military supply system.